AstraZeneca has launched a celebrity-backed campaign to educate immunocompromised people about potential Covid-19 protection measures.
The Up The Antibodies campaign aims to raise awareness of monoclonal antibody therapy, which can offer additional protection on top of vaccines to those most at-risk.
A recent study published by the CDC found that immunocompromised adults accounted for 12.2 per cent of Covid hospitalisations in the US, compared to 2.7 per cent in the rest of the population.
These individuals also had higher odds of severe outcomes, regardless of their vaccination status.
However, awareness of additional options like monoclonal antibody therapy is limited, leading AstraZeneca to launch the campaign.
Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges, who stars in a new campaign video after surviving both lymphoma and a serious bout of Covid-19, said:
“A lot of the world is trying to move forward and put COVID-19 behind them, but people with compromised immune systems can’t do that yet.
“That’s why this partnership with AstraZeneca and Up The Antibodies is incredibly personal to me.”
Bridges was joined by director Scott Cooper and musician T Bone Burnett for their first reunion since the making of 2009’s Academy Award-winning film, Crazy Heart.
Bridges said:
“While the option to up my antibodies to protect me from COVID-19 wasn’t around when I was going through cancer treatment, it is now. As soon as I could, I upped my antibodies.
“And now I’m feeling more confident to get back to doing the things I love.”
The campaign is also backed by fellow Hollywood mainstays, husband and wife, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon.
Gordon is immunocompromised, and the couple is known for talking openly about their pandemic experience.
Gordon said:
“Surviving a coma from adult-onset Still’s disease was terrifying. I never want to go through something like that again.
“So, with the arrival of the COVID-19 epidemic, we both knew we had to be more careful than ever before.
“Our experiences are so similar to what so many people who are immunocompromised are going through and we are thankful for the opportunity to share our experiences to educate others, so they can talk with their doctors about their options.”
Nanjiani added:
“At the start of the pandemic, I suffered panic attacks for the first time in my life because I was so worried about Emily, and now, while we have learned to navigate together, it never gets easier.
“Decisions are often made together, which is why it’s important for everyone to know that there is the option to add protection in addition to vaccines and boosters, wearing a mask and social distancing to prevent COVID-19.”
